Jim' McCook's Photo Gallery - Send questions to JimW6YA at Cox dot net. Click image a SECOND TIME for largest image size. This site began because I ran out of room on my office walls for my diving photos. It has expanded slightly to include a little travel and local interest.

This was my first trip to Fiji. The location was at Fiji's "garden island," Taveuni. I stayed at a resort called Dive Taveuni, now the Taveuni Island Resort. After I left the diving element of this resort was outsourced to another dive operation. The Cammicks, owners and operators, are New Zealanders who have been there for over 45 years. The focus is now as a honeymoon resort and a place for renewing vows. There are a number of beautiful resorts on Taveuni, which is located across the channel from Jean Michel Cousteau's resort on Vanua Levu.

These are highlights from a diving trip to Fiji in October, 2005. The site was Wananavu Resort, on the north end of the main island of Viti Levu. Reefs in this area were unaffected by the extremely warm currents during recent years, which has caused coral death and bleaching on many of earth's tropical reefs. Fiji has been affected significantly, as has much of the Pacific. This is a cyclic problem, since the reefs recover amazingly after these episodes.

Vanuatu, formerly known as New Hebrides, lies between Fiji and Australia. At the island of Espiritu Santo, where James Michner described his "Bali Hai" as the nearby island of Ambae, lies the world's largest recreationally diveable shipwreck, the President Coolidge. It is 2/3 the size of the Titanic. During WWII it was re-outfitted as a troop carrier. In 1942, with 5000 troops aboard, the pilot was attempting to evade an enemy submarine when he hit two mines and lost his ship. Evacuation was successful, but several men were lost. The photo of the smoking lounge is from 1937, showing the porcelain sculpture dominating the room. In 1994 the sculpture was seen deep within the wreck.

This area of Indonesia, on the island of Sulawesi, is located just south of the Philippines. It is a unique area for underwater macrophotography. Of special note are the photos of the pygmy seahorses. In one photo there are two seahorses; the smaller one was about 1/4 inch high. All underwater photos made on this website were made with simple Nikonos 35mm film cameras, versions I, III or V. They were very easy to use, but had significant limitations due to the need to estimate distance and exposure, except when doing extreme closeups using extension tubes. I used one, and later two strobes.

Palau is one of the premier dive sites in the Pacific. Nearby Peleliu Island is the site of one of the biggest and longest Pacific battles of WWII. Palau's largest island, Babeldaob, was the site of broadcasts of Tokyo Rose recordings. The island group is famous for its rock islands and salt water crocodiles. The reefs are spectacular. Palau is one of the most responsible Pacific nations for ocean conservation.

These are underwater photos made between 1971 and 1980 along the Southern California coast and islands. Most of them came from using flashbulbs, before truly reliable strobes were available. We used rubber strips with holes punched out so the good and used bulbs could be carried back topside. There were plenty of misfires.

2005-2006 Mammoth Mountain ski season was a year of record snowfall! By the end of the season snowfall reached about 70 feet. My last trip during the last week of March saw 4 feet of snow fall in 2 days. The car is shown halfway through, after only 2 feet had fallen.

This was a 2 week driving trip through one of the most beautiful parts of Eastern Europe. Slovenia is a part of the former Yugoslavia. My itinerary was arranged by ham radio friends in Ljubljana. Their hospitality and organization was more than I could imagine. At stops all over Slovenia I was met by groups of hams that showed the same degree of hospitality and dedication. To all these people I am eternally grateful.

In 2000 Patty and I drove around Czech Republic for two weeks. Our point of entry was from the southwest in the area of Sumava, a military zone during the time of USSR influence. It was an exclusive zone, so was very pristine and quiet with beautiful villages and breathtaking scenery.